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Workers are back after strike ends

Arabtec Construction workers were back on site last Saturday after their strike - which lasted almost two weeks - came to an end.

By Angela Giuffrida

Sat 17 Nov 2007 12:00 AM

Arabtec Construction workers were back on site last Saturday after their strike - which lasted almost two weeks - came to an end.

The strike over pay began on 1 November and affected several of the company's projects, including the Burj Dubai, which it is building in joint venture with Samsung and Besix.

Riad Kamal, CEO of Arabtec Construction, said that an agreement reached between management and its workforce brought the dispute to an end.

"The desired result has been achieved after several meetings with the officials of the Ministry of Labour, the UAE Contractors Association, the Dubai Police headquarters and the Permanent Committee for Labour Affairs in the Emirate of Dubai."

But Kamal declined to go into detail on what agreement was reached, although some reports have claimed that the settlement will increase the company's labour costs by 1%.

"There are too many sensitive issues involved, so it is better that we don't go into too much detail. The important thing is that the men are back at work and they are happy," he said.

The strike, along with several other pay protests held by construction workers in the last few weeks, prompted a call from the UAE Cabinet for a salary review between the Ministry of Labour and construction companies.

Arabtec is the largest UAE construction firm by market value.

Along with the Burj Dubai, the company's other projects include the Meydan racecourse project.